Kiss Me
by Fenrir78
Summary: Hello and welcome to Blind Date! Where we pair up your favorite Negima characters. Hosted by the infamous Albert Chamomile. And remember, we're not responsible for any deaths or accidents that may occur while on the date.
1. Welcome To Our Show!

Fenrir: Alright guys! Since I'm still working on Fragments here's another story idea I randomly got. -cough- from the song -cough- Kiss Me -cough- by Six Pence None The Richer -cough- Oh sorry about that, I must be coming down with something.

Sora: -whispers under breath- Yeah right... you're just trying to ditch out on doing homework over the weekend...

Fenrir: What's that?

Sora: Nothing!

Fenrir: Alright since I generously kidnapp- I mean _borrowed,_ Sora from Kingdom Hearts 2 for your viewing pleasure, he will be presenting the Disclaimer. As well as staying stuck here without anything to eat or drink until the end of the story! Isn't that great folks?

Sora: What?!

Fenrir: You heard me! Now get on with the Disclaimer or I'll let you be dragged off in the lawyer's mini van.

Sora: Good! I'll just wait for the authorities to come and rescue me.

Fenrir: They'll make you star in a Kindom Hearts cellphone video game.

Sora: Fenrir78 does not own Negima, the anime, manga, or live action show. All of that belongs to Ken Akamatsu. Neither does she own the rights to the song "Kiss me" or the band Six Pence None The Richer.

Fenrir: See? Was that so hard?

Sora: I hate you so much...

* * *

The lights began to dim around a stage standing in the center of a very large room. Sweet silence filled the great void of emptiness that one would often hear after an embarrassing conversation or an awkward moment, right before bursting into laughter at the insanity of it all. But instead of hearing the usual snide chuckle, there was a countdown.

"3...2...1..."

The dimly lit room exploded into a vast sea of vibrant white. Everything glowed in sight, from the very bottom of the wooden structured stage, to the bleachers where a roaring crowd should be waiting. Smoke filled the air from the burning end of a tobacco filled cigar. The flame burned stick was held by a very small talking creature, whom was a color more white than any of the lights stationed around his large studio. His snowy white fur scrunched up as he inhaled and quickly turned back to a silky smooth exterior as he let out his breath. Black beaded eyes opening at long last, the ermine let out his show business stance.

He ignored everyone around him to give off the perfect impression. Just as he practiced the night before he let out his well recited speech. The little raspy voice of his echoing out to the entire room through his headset.

"Welcome to our show, Blind Date! Today we will be monitoring three unsuspecting couples, unknown to them who their lucky lady or man will be." The ermine announced clearly. The chime of his voice rang through to the watching viewers, although no applause awarded him back. Slightly alarmed, he kept continuing at his same pace.

"I am your host, Albert Chamomile, and- WHERE IS EVERYBODY!!?"

True to his words, the bleachers were completely deserted. His beloved fans were nowhere in sight. Only two girls were currently present. Satsuki Yotsuba, a student from Class 2-A, a flawless member of the Mahora cooking club. The chef was lying on her side asleep, turns out her dorm room's still being fixed after a certain 'accident'. The other was another teenaged girl from the same homeroom, the infamous Baka Pink, Makie Sasaki. The gymnast watched in awe and spoke out like a pure dumb blonde, some even say blonde used to be her true original hair color until she tried to change it to brown. And being the idiot that she is, she accidently bought pink dye. Turns out it was a permanent change.

"Oh my god! That kitty just spoke!" She pointed in amazement.

Chamo sweat dropped.

"This is it!? This is my audience?" The ermine complained bitterly. He folded his arms in distaste at the turn of events and sat there for a few moments.

Just brushing it off and continuing, he swallowed the lump clogging his throat, and tried to imagine Makie in her underwear, the classic trick to help any nervous human being speaking in public overcome their fears. Although for Chamo, it was more of his perverted mind acting out of balance.

"Alright... let's just move on..." He spoke with a blush, and turned his back to hide the unspeakable amount of blood gushing from his nose.

Holding up a black remote, Chamo pressed a red button at the corner. Rising down from the ceiling was a giant sized wide-screen HD tv screen. The best in quality money could buy. It's mere size took up half of the room. Too bad his burning dollar bills suffered in vain without any audience to gaze in amazement. Almost reaching up to wipe a tear away at the thousands of dollars he wasted for nothing, he just advanced further and turned on the set until a picture slowly waved into view. It was a quiet settlement right on Mahora campus, the dorm rooms.

"Let's take a look at our first couple."

With another press of a button, the camera angle switched closer down until it reached the front of the doors as two young youths staggered into sight. Both of them masked in blindfolds.

Two girls of the cheerleading squad, Sakurako Shiina and Misa Kakizaki, moved onto the set and grabbed either blind contestant until they removed their blindfolds completely. Quickly they both dipped out of the camera shot and away from the newly found couple. They didn't want to be held responsible for the act.

"Oww... what happened?" The brown haired boy rubbed his scalp sorely. Somebody had hit him over the head with something really hard and pointy, a rock perhaps?

"When I get my hands on whoever did this, I swear I'm gonna-" The girl quickly blinked a few times before her vision came too.

"N-Negi?! What are you doing here?"

"Eh!? Asuna?"

Both the teacher and student had already jumped back in surprise. First they were jumped on by surprise, then they were led outside by who the heck knows, and now this. Even more surprising were their current conditions. Negi was still banged up and bruised from his training with Evangeline. The boy had just parted from his training partner, Kotaro, as they both went their separate ways home. The sharp blow to the head was enough to knock him out, being as fatigued as he was not even his senses could pick up the mysterious stranger who had captured him.

Asuna was stuck in her pajama's. Having to deliver papers tomorrow, she had gone to bed early. At first she heard the door creak open, assuming it was just Konoka or Negi she just ignored it. Until a strong arm yanked her out from the top bunk and guised her eyes with a thick black ribbon. Much cursing and fighting was followed.

Chamo just smirked. He spoke through his headgear so that the two confused teens could understand completely.

"Save it for the date. After all this _is _the entire point of the setup." He told them, making the now announced couple freak out even more.

"WHAT!!?" Asuna jumped back.

"C-Chamo?! Is that you?" Negi responded more calmly.

"Hey there Aniki. I know you haven't made up your mind on who you want to be your permanent partner yet, but here's a way to speed up the process! Welcome to Blind Date!" He answered.

"D-Date?!" Negi shouted out in alarm, he was already blushing pure crimson.

"What the hell is this supposed to be!?" Asuna screamed, her face beaming cherry red.

"I just told you Ane-san, it's a D-A-T-E!" Chamo told her, taking another intake of his cigar.

Asuna just stood there in a mix up of emotions, her hands were clenched into tight fists, and her heterochromia eyes were hidden behind her bangs. You couldn't tell wether or not she was upset, angry, or in some strange manner, happy. But for now, let's go with enraged.

"A date, huh?"

Asuna walked off of camera view, leaving behind a dumbfounded Negi standing alone in the dark. Chamo just stared at the screen in question.

"Hey, where'd she go?" The ermine asked. His answer was met with silence. One of his main characters of the show has just wandered off the set. This wasn't good. It took a lot of bribing to get those cheerleaders to do his dirty work, and he didn't exactly have anymore free karaoke tickets left to pay them with. What bad luck he ended up with. Well, he should have known that from the start when nobody showed up to see his performance.

Breaking the quiet atmosphere, the doors busted open to reveal that Asuna had easily found his hidden studio. Her eyes were still sheltered behind locks of her hair, but Chamo could feel the burning inferno the girl was giving off.

"A-Ane-san?" He called out in fear.

"A date you say..." Asuna said.

Chamo swallowed another hard lump in his throat, but this one wasn't from disappointment as before. He knew what was coming and it wasn't going to be pretty.

The redhead had viciously grabbed the small creature's neck and was preparing to rip him to shreds. Her fingers wrapped around his snowy white fur to get a better grip as well as a stronger squeeze against his windpipe. Chamo was literally drained from all oxygen in the air. His face paled to a dark blue.

"I'll show you a date!!"

Asuna's eyes were revealed at last, and words couldn't describe the amount of rage and intensity that filled them. She flew completely off the handle and began pulverizing the ermine. An array of pained screams exploded, and a dish out of severe Mortal Kombat rated violence blew into proportion. Zazie Rainyday stood in front of the camera with a blue sign that read "Please Stand By" to block out the Adult content. But that still didn't stop the shouting in back from being cut off. It was enough to make your skin cringe. Like the same feeling you get when you try and watch a Happy Tree Friends short. Oh those poor, poor animals... why do they even call it "Happy" anyway?

When the fighting was halted to a stop, and Asuna was separated from Chamo completely, everything still remained in motion. Although a slight change in gears was needed.

"Sayo, take care of the camera work for me, will you?" A dark red-haired girl walked into play. Instead of using the same equipment as Chamo, she held onto a gray microphone, and quickly adjusted it's preferences.

Holding the device up to her lips, the girl gave a big grin and spoke in a cheery fashion, but not Makie Sasaki cheery.

"Because our host is still recovering from an unfortunate accident, I'll be your new announcer, Kazumi Asakura!" She spoke into the mic, receiving a small clap of approval from Makie and just a louder vocal snore from Satsuki. Kazumi's ghost friend handling the camera gave the paparazzi's signature thumbs up, and Asakura moved on.

"Next we will be presenting couple number two! And the lucky contestants are-"

* * *

Fenrir: Hooray for cliff hangers!!

Sora: Can I go home now?

Fenrir: No way! This story is long from over.

Sora: awww... oh wait! That's right! If anyone's reading this, please come and help me! I'm in-

Fenrir: Oh my bad, I accidently threw my PS3 controller at his head. Silly me... Well I'll be updating soon, so please press that shiny button below, will you?


	2. Embarrassing Encounters

Fenrir: We're baaaaack!!! See, wasn't that long now was it?

Sora: For me it was... how long are you going to keep this torture up!?

Fenrir: Until the end of the story.

Sora: ...

Fenrir: Aww... cheer up! Here. -Holds up a picture of Kairi-

Sora: Kairi looks cute in that picture. -Slight blush-

Fenrir: Oh yeah, I just remember, I have one of Riku too.

Sora: Riku!!? Quick! Give it to me now!!

Fenrir: Eh??? Why?

Sora: Just give it to me!

Fenrir: Alright, alright, sheesh... -tosses photograph-

Sora: -Hugs picture- Oh Riku! Well be together forever and ever.

Fenrir?

Sora: -Gazes at picture intently-

Fenrir: Um... okay that was weird... I guess I'll do the Disclaimer then. -Backs away from Sora's fanboy craziness- I do not own Negima in any way. It all belongs to Ken Akamatsu, and the English dub rights go to Funimation. Also, I do not own the song Kiss Me or Six Pence None The Richer.

Sora: -Emotional scarring reoccurring- Why Riku! Why!!!? Why did you leave me? I looked everywhere for you!!!

Fenrir: I'll be back in a few hours...

Sora: WAHHH!!! RIKU!!!

* * *

"Hello and welcome to Blind Date! I am your new host Kazumi Asakura, our old announcer is out of commission for the moment so I'll be taking over as his replacement." A teenaged girl walked on stage with a gleaming silver microphone and a smile.

Usually one would meet an enthusiastic crowd ready for action, although in this case it would seem that a wizard had cast an invisibility spell. The audience was a deserted wasteland for the most part, you could already see a tumbleweed rolling into view, and hear that one single cricket chirping a tune that committed the room into dead silence. With the exception of the two lone girls sitting in the bleachers, Makie Sasaki, who doesn't even know what the show is about, and Satsuki Yotsuba, who just needed a place to crash for the night.

Sayo Aisaka, Kazumi's best friend, gave a small sweat drop of her own. What an unfortunate night it was to be spending the Friday evening taking care of a show that nobody had even cared to come and watch. The only other assistance they had, were that of Zazie Rainyday and two of the girls from the trio of cheerleaders who were running hot on meal and karaoke tickets. Other than that, nobody else was inside the building.

"For those who don't know, on Blind Date we pair up two lucky teens who are just waiting for that certain someone. Although the twist of it is, they don't even know who they're going out with." Kazumi explained with a grin. Was there a fun loving audience to clap and cheer in approval? Nope! In fact, not even the cricket was there anymore, Makie accidently stepped on him. The gymnast just gave out a disgusted reply to the black inky mess stuck to the sole of her sneaker.

"Eww! I just stepped on a bug!" She cried out.

Asakura sweat dropped, but continued.

"Today we hand selected three couples, our first was everybody's favorite ten year old professor and the infamous delivery girl with a major attitude problem, let's give it up for Negi and Asuna!!!" Pointing to the screen on cue, the screen flashed to the two mentioned contestants. Negi stood there confused, and Asuna was a bright shade of red. Even still she was feeling a somewhat enraged at the entire situation, and Chamo too.

"Asuna just agreed to go on the date with Negi, isn't that sweet?" Asakura smiled.

Said girl just burned a deeper scarlet blush. This time from embarrassment.

"I'm only doing this for the money, alright?! The money!" She denied, trying to set off that false act that she still couldn't stand Negi.

"Whatever you say Asuna... just remember, all dates start at 7:00, and end at midnight." Kazumi said, much to the couple's displeasure.

"That long?!!"

"Well after blowing this much cash we aren't settling for anything short." The paparazzi answered. Fingering the handy compact black device known as a remote, Asakura said her goodbyes before quickly changing to the next channel.

"Remember, you guys have one hour to get ready before your date starts. Then you two can finally have your _chance. _See you then." The redhead gave a wink.

"W-Wait a minute! Asakur-" Asuna was cut off abruptly as the host had directed their view onto the next selection of lucky youths to be paired up on their show. The HD tv gave a flicker of static before the crystal perfect picture appeared. A young boy the same age as Negi was soon to be a bachelor no more. The poor kid was captured on his way home in a similar fashion as the wizard's, but instead he wasn't attacked with a weapon.

The black haired boy struggled against his captors might, but his true strength was kept in check when his kidnapper tickled the backs of the wolf ears sitting atop his head. The boy's bushy tail was revealed as well, it wagged back and forth.

"Hahahaha, stop it!" He laughed. The once unstoppable warrior was at the mercy of a flimsy cheerleader, when Negi and the others were stuck in that trap at Kyoto, they should have just done this to break out. The half demon ten year old was at the brink of shedding tears, the tickle torture was the worst in the book.

Coming from round the other side was a girl the same age as the cheerleaders. She was coming along peacefully unlike the others.

"When Onee-sama finds out about this, you'll be sorry." The girl threatened.

"Yeah, and when I get free lunch for a year straight I'll be feeling pretty happy." Sakurako countered, ignoring anything the fourteen year old girl tried to argue back with. When both cheerleaders met up, they froze and untied the laughing half demon and the angered mage's blindfold's away. Just like their last couple capture, they quickly bounded away before either force were given a chance to get a strangle hold in.

Now this time, the clothing conditions were a tad bit worse than before. Well, actually a lot worse. Sure the boy had a couple of cuts or scrapes along his jeans or his torso, although the girl had it much worse. To get her was a real problem for the cheerleaders, since they had to raid the bath house and drag her away without grabbing too much attention. All she had was a small towel that just barely covered the front of her naked body. Although it was enough to at least cover up the vital parts and keep this story rated K plus.

The black haired boy blushed a fierce red. His laughter from being tickled came to a dead halt. The girl in front of him was an even deeper crimson.

"Y-You're that girl... from the school festival, right?" Those were the only words he could say, he did his best to divert his eyes to her face, hoping that would somehow help. He hoped that using the same kind of tactics Negi would use might help, but it did nothing of the sort.

The girl bit her lip before giving a sound breaking scream.

The boy scrambled to his feet and turned the other way, eye lids closed shut and face steaming red. All the while shouting out apologies.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

Back in the studio, Kazumi gave another sweat drop for the third time that day.

"That was... Kotaro Inugami, and Mei Sakura everybody..."

"Yay! I still don't know what's going on!" Makie applauded.

Kazumi just switched the channel. That couple already started out on shaky ground, but this _was_ all Chamo's idea. Figures something like that would happen. At least the last group should turn out better than the last.

"Alright, here's stop number three, after this we'll begin the dates." Kazumi said, giving another nervous grin to their empty audience.

Getting the signal from Sayo, Kazumi changed the channel to the third and final couple. The screen flashed one more time, and another meeting spot designated somewhere on campus was revealed. Of all three, this one would raise the greatest amount of votes. That I don't even have to think about to know for sure.

"Eh? A date?" The brunette haired girl asked up to the speaker projecting Kazumi's voice. The two blindfolded teens had already met one another, and in an accidental collision course they were both knocked down into the concrete. The stronger and more focused one recovering first and then offering a hand to pick the other to her feet. She cheerfully agreed and accepted the kind gesture with a blush. Now both were standing and awaiting further orders.

"Yep. So what do you say?" Kazumi asked.

"W-Well I don't think it's such a good-"

"We'll do it!" The bubbly brunette cut off her date's decision, only to earn more stuttering in turn.

"What are you saying!? To do something like that..."

The girl shook her head.

"Come on, it'll be a lot of fun! Besides, I've always wanted to go on a date with Secchan." The girl told her guardian, who only blushed from head to toe in reaction.

"O-Ojou-sama!!!" The swords woman whined.

"Alright then! It's a _date_!!" The paparazzi decided.

Without taking anymore opinions on the matter, she quickly shut off the tv, no matter how much either one had against it, they were going on a date, and that's that.

"There's our final couple, Konoka Konoe and Setsuna Sakurazaki! Well, I hope you'll join us next time when we go on the dates. And with a bigger audience I hope..." Kazumi whispered the last sentence under her breath, but they still reached to the ears of the viewer.

"Yay! So when's the next show?" Makie asked dumbly.

"For you, in one minute."

"Yay!!!"

"Oh well... maybe it won't be as bad, since this guy is going to be helping us!" Kazumi fired back up optimistically. The camera angle moved to the right, showing an older man garbed in a wizard's cloak. The hood shadowed his face almost completely, and a blue ponytail draped over his shoulder.

"Say, what was your name again?" Asakura questioned.

"Call me Colonel Sanders."

* * *

Fenrir: Well, that's the end of chapter 2.

Sora: -Over emotional scarring- Thanks for reading! And please review... did I say that right?

Fenrir: Yep! I'll see you later, I have to get to bed since I have the evils of school to go to tomorrow.

Sora: And what am I supposed to do while you're gone?

Fenrir: Hmm... well we do kind of look alike, we have the same hair and eye color, maybe I can bring you to school with me! You can be my little brother!

Sora: 'Little'? I'm older than you!

Fenrir: -Throws PS3 controller again- Now, now, nobody's supposed to know my age, remember?

Sora: I think you just gave me a concussion...


	3. A Surprising Entrance

Fenrir: Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I'm really glad you guys enjoy the story.

Sora: -Walks in half dead- That... was... living... hell...

Fenrir: Don't like the rain, huh?

Sora: Course not! I think all my hair gel came out too...

Fenrir: Yeah... that's what happens when the rains falls horizontal and the schools have absolutely no coverage to protect you from heavy showers.

Sora: I... hate... your school...

Fenrir: So do I XD

* * *

"Hello! And thank you for returning to our live broadcast of Blind Date!" Kazumi cheered once more with a broad smile.

"But, I didn't even move at all..." Makie stated. The gymnast had been sitting in the same seat ever since the show had started. And sadly, her dumb blondness seemed to pop up at almost every turn.

"Yes... I know..." Asakura responded blandly. "But, we have a special guest today! He just returned from his trip to the emergency room, everyone give a warm hearted welcome to Albert Chamomile! Or... well, Makie just clap when I raise my hand." The redhead winced at the empty gorge just sitting in front of her. They were still short of the most important part of their little romance drama. The crowd...

With a raise over her unoccupied microphone hand, Asakura gave the signal and Baka Pink obediently listened. The silent little clap could just barely be heard, or was actually the only sound that could.

"Yay! The Kitty's back!" The pink haired girl beamed with enthusiasm.

From immediately to Kazumi's left, the stage door had trudged open only very slightly. That crack of afternoon darkness taking a heavy step through first. The only thing anybody could see was a tiny dark shadow about the size of your fingernail. Almost as if an ant had been trying to sneak it's way through to scavenge for food. Zazie's unfazed and emotionless eyes were the first to glance towards the doorways. Not even her head had turned, only her eyeballs had shifted slightly towards the oncoming life force. Sayo caught on right after, a ghostly sweat drop draining down her grimaced expression. Nobody had really even known what the turn out of what Chamo's damage would look like, just that it was very, very severe. After all, he _was_ brutally attacked by Asuna. Hardly anybody could make it back alive after one of those.

Kazumi perplexed a finger on her chin in thought. Her hazel eyes scrimmaged the phenomenon in curiosity. The shadow would grow bigger every few seconds, then slow die down to a stop. A raspy breath from the outside gasped for oxygen. Until when it finally came close enough in range could anyone make out the creature's words.

"I'm... coming..." It gasped.

A wooden crutch shoved it's way into the studio first, the wooden base shaking furiously, it's user was having trouble supporting the handicapped object. After another slow approach, a furry white foot made it's way onto the scene, trembling with just as much difficulty. Until finally...

"I... I'm back everyone..." Chamo panted out.

Everyone blinked a few times to register what they were seeing. The perverted ermine before the looked as if he had just survived a train wreck. His left paw was swollen with a decent sized cast, the other still usable right leaning on a crutch. Bandages were wound tightly around his furry tail and torso. Including being intertwined around one of his beady black dots you call eyes. To top off his entire injured state, a neck brace was strapped securely below his head. Making it hard for the ermine to show off his usual show stance. All in all, his condition looked to be pretty painful.

"Sorry I'm late. I've had a rough night..." Chamo sighed, limping his way over to the stage, or at least trying to.

"I'll be there in a second... don't you worry about-"

SLAM!!!

"Ah, so this is where you were Asakura. I readied all the preparations in advance, so you don't have to worry about a thing. And- Oh! ... I'm sorry, about the door... are you alright?" Colonel Sanders had abruptly cut into the room, accidently slamming the door against Chamo's entire body. The ermine had been sent crashing into the wall, a greater mess now then before.

"Oh my god! The Kitty's dead!!" Makie cried out.

"U-Um... we'll be back shortly!" Kazumi quickly cut across the stage and out of sight. Already rushing to her injured co-host's side.

Zazie Rainyday walked onto camera view, and full filled her duty of holding up flash cards. Silently she raised up a bright red sign reading, "Currently we are experiencing technical difficulties. We apologize for the delay." And the classic low budget music played in back, the same exact kind you'd hear whenever you would be put on hold with a service. Although this one came with the roaring engines of a siren. Oh wait... that was the real background noise of the ambulance coming for Chamo.

With the startled rush of wheels speeding off in the opposite direction, the tan skinned circus performer gave a small bow, right before walking off camera. Immediately after, Kazumi quickly dashed back onto the stage, a bead of sweat caressing her left cheek.

"We're sorry about that. It seems our guest shouldn't have come back as soon as expected, it seems his... er, injuries haven't fully recovered yet. But don't worry, he'll be back on his crippled feet in no time!" The paparazzi lied, her face was laced with pure nerves.

"Recovery? But the Kitty was bleeding all over-" Makie exposed the truth, only to have the replacement host raise an arm. It did the trick and shut the girl up. Just like her instructions before, the gymnast gave another clap of approval. Although a pained frown bewitched her lips. She knew the ermine, or 'Kitty' in this case, wasn't at all well.

"As I said before, _he'll be back on his feet in no time_." Kazumi repeated, another false accusation making it's way back through gritted teeth.

The host let her arm fall to a drop right beside her waist. And without the added incline of height, Makie came to a stop from her cheering.

"Well, as they say... the show must go on! So then, let's take a look at our dates." Kazumi grinned from ear to ear. On cue, the tv behind her changed to another channel. The image flickered in slowly, filtering out the static crackling across it's screen. The first announced couple appeared. Or well... at least the lady of the two.

* * *

Asuna tapped her foot impatiently. The girl had been waiting for her date to show up by now, but already the mage had kept her for a little while. Sure, knowing the kind of guy he is you'd expect him to at least be on time, but no.

Who knows where he was. Probably stalling around with that perverted ermine somewhere she mused. Although she had already taken the liberty to knock the creature out. So that couldn't be a possibility. Giving some more thought into it, Ayaka could have found him, and knowing that shota-con she probably chained Negi down to a tree somewhere and is planning to shack the kid up or something... well, not that far. But the thought of it just fueled Asuna's temper even more.

'Why don't you show up already?' Now she was beginning to become worried.

Wait...

Worried?

Why would she ever be worried about that stupid brat?

All he ever did was make her life more miserable, and ruin her chances with her one true love, Professor Takahata. The man of her dreams had turned her down about only a week ago, her heart still felt sore from the turn down. But... she couldn't really blame Negi for it. He was the one that was trying to help her win over her beloved teacher.

Diving deeper into thought about the subject, pink tinged her cheeks.

'Great! Now I'm contradicting myself over and over. Stop feeling sorry for him dammit!' Asuna mentally screamed at herself. This wasn't like her one bit.

She just folded her arms together bitterly, her foot smacking against the concrete rapidly. The inner conflict she was dealing with was enough to make her jump out of her own skin. The only good side was that she was able to change into something half-way decent. Nothing as flashy as the outfit she wore with Takahata, but about the same as when they made her go on a practice date with the kid before.

Her hair was tied in two long ponytails, with the bells her first real love had given her, and the only gift he ever did give her.

Asuna closed her eyes and tried to think for a moment.

'Well, I'm stuck on this date, might as well get it over with.'

Footsteps drew near, coming directly into her direction. Cracking open a green eye first to see who it was, the sight before her made both eyes flash open in shock.

"Hi Asuna-san!" That familiar voice greeted, although it had broke into an older man tone.

Negi had shown up alright, but not his normal age. Obviously, Asakura had pulled an ace up her sleeve. How they had gotten the aging pills to work that well... it was an amazement. Negi was at the same exact as Takahata. He held the perfect older gentlemen guise that Asuna herself would drop dead for. The once ten year old boy's cute child-like face had changed to that clean shaven cut maturity. His eyes stood out gentle, but that determined confidence of his set behind the ruse. Negi's height had extended far taller than her own, and even his physique had buffered. The only thing that could ruin it, was the fact that he was wearing the same casual attire a fifteen year old boy would change into.

The pink tinge bubbling her cheeks rose to an intense red. Negi mistook the sign as an alarm instead of a teenager's blush.

"Asuna, do you have a fever?" He asked.

The girl couldn't even choke a single word out. Her vocal chords were malfunctioning on their own. The same could be said for her reflexes. Negi had already bent forward and pressed his forehead against hers, making the blush develop even faster.

"Hmm... you feel a little warm. Are you alright?"

That's it, she backed up.

"W-W-Wait!! What in the world did you do!?" Asuna pointed at the aged Negi. The boy merely smiled in response.

"It was Asakura-san's idea. She thought it would be good for the excitement of the show if I changed to the same age Asuna-san prefers." His answer sounded like the most simple thing in the world, but in reality it crashed Asuna's mind.

* * *

"Hmm... maybe it was a little too strong." Colonel Sanders voiced his thoughts aloud. The mage had been standing right next to the host, who was getting the same feeling as well. Maybe the paparazzi shouldn't have given Negi those pills after all.

Adjusting her microphone preferences, Kazumi called through the hacked intercom nearby their current location outside of school grounds. It was a good idea to help push any of the couple's in the right direction if anything might not go as planned. Even though the girl wasn't as experienced in the art of love herself, she could manage.

"So, how are you two guys working out?" She spoke through the mic, undoubtedly it reached the ears of the contestants.

"T-This is too weird!" Asuna whined, her back was turned the other way, but from their angle shot you could tell she was close to a nosebleed, hence the urgency.

"Alright, we'll handle it from here." Kazumi reassured.

* * *

About five minutes after the paparazzi's report, Negi had come back from around the corner in his real true ten year old body. The clothes he was fitted in were far different from the suit he was well accustomed to wearing during teaching. Garbed in a long sleeved jacket, T-shirt, and jeans, he was ready to head out and start their date.

"Are you ready to go, Asuna-san?" He asked. The boyish charm showing up again.

Keeping the heat rising to her cheeks in check, Asuna agreed and walked along with her professor, that image of him as an older man was still stuck in her head.

"Yeah."

From the word go, she was already shooting a warning glance down at the mage, Negi sweat dropped nervously from the glance.

"W-What?"

"Don't try anything funny, got it?" Asuna ordered, still holding her gaze.

Negi nodded.

"Right. I understand."

"Good."

The two continued on their way past several of the shops and stores held in the plaza square. Negi would look up at Asuna every few times, trying to decode what his roommate was thinking. But she was as unreadable as a box. A couple times, she even caught him in the act, sending a glare the boy's way, forcing him to shrink back in fear.

'What do I do? I want to keep my word to Asuna-san, but I can't disobey Asakura-san either!' Negi's mind raced for a solution.

"_Make sure you at least make a move. Just hold her hand or compliment her. Remember, I'm counting on you!" Kazumi gave the positive thumbs up. _

Swallowing the lump edged in his throat, Negi readied himself.

'Just hold her hand... right!'

Outstretching his hand towards Asuna's palm, Negi held it gently. He could feel that comforting warmth from her hand radiate into his. When he was growing up, he had always dismissed hold handing as something stupid, how most boys his age would. But actually, it felt pretty nice. Although the fist edged into the back of his skull didn't.

"What did I tell you about making any funny moves!?" Asuna scolded.

* * *

"Looks like it'll be difficult to get those two together." Kazumi bit her lip. To get Asuna to cooperate was like telling Evangeline to act like Makie for a day. It just wouldn't work. But, it didn't hurt to try.

"Well, let's take a break from Negi and Asuna for a moment. Let's visit our other two couples. Here's Kotaro Inugami, and Mei Sakura." Kazumi announced with that cheerful smirk and the loud, outgoing attitude. Although after her exciting statement, only silence blew in.

Cold hard silence.

Until the raise of a hand.

"Yay!!!" Makie cheered.

* * *

He still couldn't believe he was actually going through this. Him? Of all people, on a date? It was ridiculous!

Kotaro Inugami stood there, hands deposited into the pockets of his newly changed jeans, his classic school uniform shirt and jacket in place of his ripped long sleeved shirt from before. A beanie sat atop his spiked messy black hair, a disguise to hide his wolf ears from the general public. Among his date it didn't matter, after all she is a mage, but to the non magic knowing saps it was vital not to blow anything by accident. If something were to happen, he'd need to come up with an excuse. Let's see... He was trying out a new version of Neko Mimi ears, but they screwed up during creation.

Yeah right, nobody in their right mind would believe that...

"Um... Kotaro-kun?" A girl's voice called.

Turning to look, he could see Mei Sakura stuck in the regular Mahora Academy fashion. Their school uniform. Although it wasn't half bad looking, actually Kotaro thought it was pretty cute. Of course the half demon wasn't so careless to show it through a blush. In contrast to Sakura who was beet red in the face. Better move things in gear.

"Oi, Sakura-san." The words rolled off his tongue in what felt like a funny manner to himself. He was so used to calling every girl 'nee-chan' or at least saying Ayaka was an old aunt. It felt weird to be using vocabulary the way Negi would.

"You ready?" The ten year old asked.

"Yes." With the movement of conversation flowing, the girl's blush steadily decreased, and she began to feel more comfortable around Kotaro. Especially as they walked along the sidewalk towards their destination.

He'd tell a joke.

She'd laugh in response.

Afterwards, she'd compliment him.

And he would blush. (Fenrir: OMG I rhymed XD!!! Sora: Joy...)

Whatever it was, it just seemed to click. Wherever the pair went, they enjoyed themselves. A happy acoustic of giggling and laughing could be heard. They didn't need any help, they were perfectly capable of handling it on their own. The two hadn't talked to one another themselves, in fact most words that were ever said were through a bone crunching fist to the face, the first round in the tournament during the festival were between the two. After being knocked into the water trench below the stage, the half demon had helped the mage out of her watery grave, giving the first real introduction she had ever heard him say.

"_You know, you're really troublesome." Kotaro swept her into his arms, carrying the girl over to the stage. _

"_I'm sorry." __Mei blushed. _

Thinking back to it now made her turn red. How embarrassing that was... but here they were. A week later. On a date.

Still though, he was acting a lot nicer than at the tournament. And the aura surrounding him set off a protective charge. Around this boy, she felt completely at ease. Unlike with her Onee-sama.

This date stuff wasn't as bad as Kotaro thought it was going to be. It was actually kind of fun. Though nothing compared to the excitement of fighting against strong opponents. Still... things like this had it's own strong points.

Kotaro faced Sakura with a small blush, of course the girl was currently looking in the opposite direction at the time, and hadn't noticed. It was good thing too, Kotaro didn't want to be marked off as the babbling idiot Negi could be when it came to women. The half demon was more controlled. But his blush was beginning to be pulled out of his grasp, and the feeling would happen quite often now. To the point of where it was hard to disappear.

The air clouding around them wasn't as romantic as one would hope. Both teenagers were too timid to say anything on their own, and besides... they were already enjoying themselves, why rush? There was a completely good reason why. Two eavesdroppers were nearby, watching. Ready at any moment to crash in on their evening. Apparently they wanted to change that atmosphere into something more.

Hiding behind a stalk of shrubbery right by the now chatting couple, were two teenaged girls. If not the same, then just a little bit older than Mei Sakura herself. To say who these girls were in specifics, then you could call them Kotaro's guardians.

"Alright, so you know the plan, right Natsumi-san?" A girl with long wavy brown hair whispered to her companion.

"I don't know about this Chizu-nee. Won't this just wreck their date?" The shorter girl with freckles answered, hesitance wrecked her voice with grief.

The girl known as Chizuru shook her head.

"Nonsense. Besides, they won't get anywhere like this."

"Yeah, but-"

"Then it's decided! We'll get in the way of their date. Don't you at least want to see an 'Adult Kiss' at the least?" The more daring roommate tried to convince.

"W-What!?" Without another word, Natsumi was already being dragged off towards the pair. This was not going to end well. The two middle school students had rushed forward towards their ten year old roommate. Through his hat, you could still see the indent of his wolf ears poking up. Both of them twitched in surprise as soon as they picked up the teenager's voices.

"Hi Kotaro-kun!!" Chizuru called, grabbing the boy's attention.

"Chizu-nee!? Natsumi nee-chan!?" Kotaro spoke out of stun. What in the world were they doing here anyway? Nobody was supposed to know about the date.

"Friends of yours?" Mei Sakura sweat dropped. From the look on Kotaro's face, it was almost as if his mother had busted in on their date. The classic awkward situation between a child and parent.

Walking up to the two younger youths, Chizuru was the first to give her own warm greeting. But it was a little more than anyone had expected. Except for maybe Natsumi, who had seen the girl perform quite a few embarrassing scenes to their youngest friend.

"Due to an unfortunate accident at Natsumi's home, I'm bringing Kotaro-kun up. He is her little brother you know." With that Chizuru hugged the boy into her bosom, causing everyone but the girl herself to sweat drop. Kotaro's face shifted to the brightest red imaginable. Oh god, of all the times why did it have to be now? If he could, Kotaro would have found the nearest pole and crashed his head into it.

"Natsumi's home is so cruel." Chizuru continued, reusing their lie.

"I'm telling you! It's a normal family!" The actress argued back.

"C-Chizu-nee... can't... breathe..." Kotaro choked out. His lungs were shriveling up to the size of a very tiny pebble.

Mei Sakura could only watch her date's unfortunate predicament. There wasn't much that the girl could do to help in this kind of situation, just cross your fingers and hope some kind of good luck will come along.

Some kind of miracle that would pull them out of this.

Maybe...

"Mei! So that's where you were!"

Alright, screw crossing your fingers, you just got stuck in the worst kind of trap, EVER!!!

"Onee-sama!?" The girl spun around in surprise. Her friend, Takane D. Goodman, had just decided to pay them a visit, at the worst possible time...

"So, I heard you were on a date." The blonde gave her younger friend the 'suspicious' look, on instant Sakura was already blushing over a hundred shades of red. If Takane knew, then either the girl would relentlessly try to help or break the two apart. And which ever one she should choose, the same result would reoccur a hundred times over. And it's only two simple words. Absolute. Disaster.

"No, Onee-sama! You've got it all wrong." Mei tried to steer her away, oh god how she tried, but it was all in vain.

"I knew it! Don't worry Mei, I've got it all covered." The blonde reassured with a grin.

Mei just continued to panic.

"No, wait! Onee-sama, don't!!"

* * *

"Oh my god..." Kazumi gazed up at the screen in awe. The sight before them was too ugly to even be shown on a mature rated show. Something of this caliber could even rival Asuna's horrific beat down on Chamo, or even surpass it.

"That is pretty bad, isn't it?" Colonel Sanders watched with a pale grimace. Even through all the scum he had to deal with while traveling with Nagi, _this_ was ranked up there with some of the worst situations they had to deal with. With the obscene image, somebody was bound to ask. So who other than Makie to ask the most obvious question.

"Asakura, what happened?"

The paparazzi was frozen in her spot. Lips unmoving. From the girl's short attention, she was probably day dreaming about gymnastics again, or Negi. Which would explain why she hadn't seen. For once, the lack of oxygen to her brain actually saved.

"N-Nothing at all!" She denied. "Now cheer for the audience."

"Yeah, but-"

The arm was already raised above her head, without anymore back talk, the pink haired teenager obliged and began clapping furiously.

"Asakura, I'll take over, you look a little shaken up." The mysterious cloaked Colonel Sanders offered.

"Thanks... I'll be back in a little while... I think I need to lay down for a minute..." The redhead left behind her duty of host to the stranger. All in the sake of finding a bottle of aspirin and to clear that disturbing image from her mind.

Colonel Sanders watched the paparazzi leave with a puzzled look on his face. With all of the stories she had managed, he was surprised that she had been scared off that easily, all though it could be easily excused considering _what_ _it was_. And don't you dare ask!! Unless you wanna have nightmares for a week straight.

"Miss Asakura will be back shortly." The hooded man took over reign as announcer. The Colonel was already speaking through the mic and pulling off the paparazzi's style with ease. This wasn't so hard...

"If you'll direct your attention over here... young lady over there, please look this way." He had already caught Makie dazing off into space.

The girl snapped to it, scratching the back of her head nervously with a pink tinge in her cheeks.

"Oh, hehe sorry about that... aww... Negi..." Her mind traveled back to her beloved Sensei again, and then quickly back to the screen with the eyes of their new host on her. She wasn't getting away with it this time.

"As I was saying, we're about to bring out our third couple now, since the last one had some... er... complications..." He cut short on the details about the second date, seeing the kind of things it could do to your mind, who knows what it would to the audience members. Or well, just their single two anyway. The dumb one in back, and the other one sleeping in the mid section.

"Here's Konoka and Setsuna!" He directed a hand over to the screen. Which nobody even cared to listen about. Standing there for a few moments, Colonel Sanders raised an arm just like Kazumi had done, but nothing happened.

"Why aren't you clapping?" He asked.

"Asakura said only to clap when _she _raised her hand!" Makie smarted off back towards the mage.

"..."

* * *

"Sechaaaaaaan!! Let's go over there." Konoka tugged on her swords woman's arm, pulling her towards the healer's desired destination.

"Hai, Ojou-sama." Setsuna agreed.

Frowning, the brunette crossed her arms and pouted.

"I told you not to call me that." She told her best friend angrily.

Setsuna was surprised by the result her formality had called. Sure she never liked being called by that name, but never had Konoka acted in such a harsh way before. The last thing Setsuna would wish for was to make her Ojou-sama unhappy.

"Ah, I-I'm sorry." She immediately bowed with an apology.

The girl's once sour face quickly changed to a pleased smile. Any distaste had been drained out of her system.

"It's okay. But from now on, just call me Kono-chan, K?" She ended rather cutely, which made Setsuna blush bright red.

"B-But, I can't do that. It wouldn't be right." The swords woman argued back.

Once more, Konoka resumed the pout she had been using earlier.

"Secchan..."

"Ah, right... K-Kono-chan." Setsuna gave in at the end, even if it was the stupidest of things, as long as it was Konoka who was asking for them, then she would always agree.

"Yay!" Konoka turned to Setsuna with a hug and a bright cheerful smile. It made her so happy when her best friend used their old childhood nickname. Unfortunately, her happiness took them both down to the floor. Her sudden rush attack was a little to much for her sworn protector to handle, making the girl off balance.

Out of anything that would make her blush the most, this one took the cake. Their current position was rather quite an embarrassing one. Setsuna turned a deep crimson color before backing away from Konoka faster than the speed of light. Her heart thumped wildly, and at first she could have sworn she was suffering from some kind of heart attack.

Sitting up in a slight daze, Konoka rubbed a hand on her throbbing head.

"Ow... I'm sorry, Secchan. I shouldn't have jumped like- Secchan?" Konoka looked over at the startled swords woman, who was as red as an inferno.

Setsuna just sat there in utter silence. She didn't say a single word.

"Um... Secchan?" Konoka asked again, this time her guardian finally came back to earth. Jumping up to a standing position, she was quick to the point.

"I'm sorry Konoka Ojou-sam- no wait... I mean Kono-chan." She spoke with vibrant blush. Not saying the proper honorifics made her feel ashamed, she still couldn't stop the feeling that it felt wrong to call her by her old nickname. But as long as Konoka was happy, it was enough.

"You said it again! I'm so happy." The brunette smiled wide, clapping her hands together in delight. Just that one simple word, could make her die a happy girl.

Setsuna gazed at Konoka with a smile. She really did look beautiful when she was smiling.

Brown eyes opening back up with realization, Konoka let out a small "Oh!" as she gazed across the street. Right at the corner was a photo booth. The perfect spot.

"Secchan, let's go!" Enthusiastically, Konoka hugged the older girl's arm, leaning on the swords woman's body just like a girlfriend would do with her boyfriend on their date, or what a girlfriend would do with her girlfriend in this case.

Turning red all over again, Setsuna was unwillingly dragged all the way across the street. Everything went by so fast, that it took the teen a few moments to realize that they had already made it there.

"Alright Secchan, smile!" Konoka said in her usual cheerful tone.

"R-Right."

Posing with her date, the two girls did a victory sign, holding their index and middle fingers up in the shape of a V. With a sharp flash, the camera automatically took their memorial photo, spitting it out through a slot at the bottom.

"Secchan, let's do one more!" The girl requested, holding a face that you could die for.

Nodding her head, they prepared for one last shooting together. Although this one was much more different than the last. The moment the camera lens was about to erupt the bright white light, Konoka leaned forward towards her best friend. Just in time, quickly and efficiently, the brunette had planted a successful kiss on her date's cheek. Setsuna's eyes widened when she could feel the sensation tickling the side of her face.

The camera flashed.

And the picture was taken.

"O-Ojou-sama!?" Setsuna didn't even correct herself this time, the swords woman was just too speechless for words.

"What? You didn't like it?" Konoka asked, disappointment filled her voice.

Not wanting to leave the wrong impression, the swords woman shook her head.

"No... I was just, surprised." Setsuna explained. A short gap of silence filled between the two, neither girl saying a word, until the booth had finally printed out their first real moment together. Taking a look at the photos herself, Konoka got a big grin as she looked at Setsuna's expression. Even a small giggle escaped. Setsuna raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?"

"It's nothing." But another short burst of laughter followed. Something was wrong.

"Let me see..." Setsuna made a move for the film piece, but the healer took it farther away from her best friend's grasp. The brunette still stared at the picture.

"You look good in it Secchan."

The compliment only made Setsuna blush.

"Kono-chan, let me look."

"No."

"Eh?" Why was Konoka being so difficult?

"You have to catch me first." The brunette said in a playful tone. It just wracked Setsuna's mind even more with confusion.

"What do you mean?" Setsuna asked again. She wanted to clarify exactly what her childhood friend was getting at.

"Exactly what I said." With that, Konoka had already bounded out of the photo booth, leaving her fearless protector behind with a bewildered face. Not wanting to let her friend out of sight, Setsuna quickly chased after her. Jumping out head first, Setsuna could faintly catch a trace of Konoka's long brown hair just trailing around the corner.

"Ojou-sama, please stop!"

The chase was on. Both girls were racing along the sidewalk, Konoka was easily making her way through, leaving Setsuna with a tougher time as a charge of people had slowed down her pace. Already now she was losing track of where the healer was traveling. Stuck in a sea of people, Setsuna had no where to move, she was completely stuck.

Meanwhile, Konoka herself was having the time of her life.

'Hehe, Secchan's so cute.' The teen thought to herself with a red tinge warming her cheeks.

Crossing over to an alleyway, the brunette paused in her tracks and took out their photo. Staring at it intently, the sight of is just brought a smile to her face. Konoka stood there, brown eyes closed, her lips were kissing Setsuna's cheek, and the swords woman was blushing, her eyes shown through with surprise.

"I'm so glad me and Secchan are friends." She spoke aloud.

"You and who are friends?" A teenaged boy's voice came to the side of her.

Realization hitting hard, Konoka finally knew what she had fallen into. She never should have entered this alleyway.

Biting her lip, the healer gave an ear piercing cry.

Even in the distance, Setsuna could pick up the sign of distress. The scream wasn't too far away either. Just a little ways down the street.

"Ojou-sama, I'm coming!"

Not even caring who saw, carefully Setsuna administered her pactio card, and with a starting leap, she was able to bounce towards the roof above. You just gotta love the use of magic. Especially in situations like these. Running across from rooftop to rooftop, Setsuna had finally arrived to Konoka's residence. No wonder she cried, she was surrounded by a gang of thugs. They were trying to hurt her.

Her brow creased into a hateful glare. Leaping down Setsuna pulled out her prized sword. Using quick hand and footwork, with a couple of simple slashes, the boy in front of the gang was taken out.

"S-Secchan!?" Konoka was startled by her friend's actions.

"Don't worry Kono-chan." Setsuna reassured, turning to her healer friend with a smile.

'I will protect you. No matter what.'

"S-Secchan, behind you!" Konoka warned, breaking Setsuna out of her trance. Unfortunately her senses didn't react fast enough, and something sharp from behind had struck her in the back of the neck. Knocking the girl out of consciousness.

* * *

'Should I send help?' Colonel Sanders gritted his teeth. Back in the studio he was forced to watch the entire endeavor. After all, Kazumi was still recovering, somebody had to take over as her replacement.

All of a sudden, before the hooded mage could even find out what happened, the tv screen flashed to black. There was no knowing what had happened now, seeing as how somebody pulled the plug.

Looking over at the doorway, he could see a blonde haired teenager stand there, a young woman with bright green eyes.

"My, my, and who the hell might you be?" He asked.

The girl held up the unplugged cord, a frown set upon her features.

"Shows over." She told him.

"Oh?"

"I found your little _spies_, they skulking somewhere around the dorms." With the flick of the wrist, the teen's brute strength had thrown forward the two cheerleads, Sakurako Shiina, and Misa Kakizaki. Both girls had a guilty look on their face, it seemed whoever this woman was, she had gotten them to confess flat out.

"Ah, I see. And how does any of this concern you?" Colonel Sanders questioned once more.

"You have contestants Negi Springfield and Asuna Kagurazaka on a date together, correct?" The girl asked, her arms were crossed together in an angered stance.

"Yeah."

Scorching flames seemed to shoot up right behind the young woman, literally.

"Then I, Ayaka Yukihiro, will do everything in my power to stop that date!" The blonde said in pure outrage and disgust.

"Hey I'm back, so did anything happen?" Kazumi chose that time to come back up to the stage.

* * *

Fenrir: Finally... finished! -Stretches-

Sora: Great, but you still have a ton of other chapters to get finished too, remember?

Fenrir: ... Must you rub it in?

Sora: It's called revenge. Deal with it.


End file.
